Weighing-scale.



PATENTED OCT. 2, 1906.

H. FAIRBANKS.

WEIGHING SCALE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.15,1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 14 llll. 0

Fly. 6.

val-Qt,

610mm CAI) No. 832,465. PATENTED OCT. 2, 1906. H. FAIRBANKS.

WEIGHING SCALE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.15, 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATENTED OCT. 2, 1906.

H. FAIRBANKS.

WEIGHING SCALE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 15, 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

zg j

Q vi linemen UNITED STATES OFFICE.

HENRY FAIRBANKS, OF ST. JQHNSBURY, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR TO E. AND

T. FAIRBANKS AND COMPANY, OF ST. JOHNSBURY, VERMONT, A COR- PORATION OF VERMONT.

WElGHING-SCALE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1906.

To all whorrb it 'H'MI/y concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY FAIRBANKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. J ohnsbury, in the county of Caledonia, State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVeighing-Scales, of

which the following is a description, refer ence being had to the accompanying dra w ings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to weighingscales, and particularly to platform-scales employed for the weighing of heavy loads, although many of its features may be employed to advantage in smaller scales of the same or of different construction.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel form of lever in which the metal is so distributed as to secure the greatest strength, the metal being disposed well above and below the neutral line of strains.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the knife-edge pivots that they are in contact throughout their entire length with hardened bearings, and, further, to reinforce said pivots by the metal of the castings.

A'still further object of the invention is to free the delicate knife-edges of the pivots and the bearings on which they rest from frictional wear, due to sliding upon each other.

A still further object of the invention is to so support one or both bearings of each lever as to permit the bearings to assume a common plane during the weighing operation and to permit free movement of the platform, due, for example, to the movement of a train to or from it without altering the relative positions of the knife-edges and their bearings.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanyin drawings, and particularly pointed out in t e appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form and proportions of parts, and minor details in construction may be made without departin from the spirit or sacrificing any of the a vantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of sufiicient of a platform-scale to illustrate the invention.

' the lever.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the levers. Fig. 3.is an end elevation of one of the standards, the lever being shown in section. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the standard and bearings for the butt-end of one of the levers. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view showing the standard, cross-piece, rocking block, saddleblOCli bearing, and links detached. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the cross-piece of the platform-pivot. Fig. 7 is an elevation illustrating a modification of the invention, in which the fulcrumpivot at the butt of the lever engages a fixed bearing, while the equalizing rocking block is applied to the platformpivot. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the lever shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is an elevation of the stand on which the butt-end of the leveris fulcrumed, the lever being shown in section. Fig. 10 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the platform-pivot. Fig. 11 is a detail view of the butt-end of the lever. Fig. 12 is an elevation of the rocking-block equalizer shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 12 is a similar view of the cross-piece. Fig. 13 illustrates a buttend fulcrum embodying a further modification of the invention. Fig. 14 is an end view of the same, showing the lever in section. Fig. 15 is a detail perspective View of one form of bearing having detachable end guards. Fig. 16 shows a further modification of the invention to be used in connection with a lever 'having the ordinary form of knife-edge pivots. Fig. 17 is an end elevation of the same, the lever being shown in section; and Fig. 18 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the underframing, showing one of the stands. Fig. 19 is a side elevation showing the platform suspended from an elevated scale. Fig. 20 is a transverse sectional view of the same on the line 20 20 of Fig. 19.

Similar letters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, the levers are hung by swinging links from the stands, and the platform-su ports are hung by links from the levers. T 6 I00 evener rocking block in this case is used in supporting the fulcrum-pivot at the butt of The lever a is provided with two The knife-edge fulcrum c for o enings l) l).

t e butt of the lever is arranged in the opening 12 with its edge down, and the extended the lower ends of inverted stands 70, dependends of this fulcrum are supported by projections d, extending from the opposite sides of the lever, the knife-edge crossing the plane of the lever and being supported and reinforced for its entire length. The knife-edge c of the Zplatform-pivot extends. through the opening and is similarly reinforced by the projections d.- The saddle-block bearing e is faced with hardened steel to receive the knife-edge b and its lower face is provided with. recesses for the reception of the lower ends of a air of suspension-links f, the upper ends of w 'ch enter recesses formed in a rocking block 9, the central lower portion of which is provided with a rocker projection h, fitting in adepression in the top of a cross piece 1''. The opposite ends of the cross-piece are fitted in recesses formedin the" tops of two stands k, that rest on the side sills p of the nnderframing. In order to prevent displacement of the rocker-block, the cross- 'piece is provided with pins or lugs to, which enter between pairs of lugs or fingers projecting fioiirthe ends of the rocker-block. The saddle-block extends through the opening I) and forms a bearing for the entire length of the knife-edge pivot 0, thus avoiding the tendency to spring found in theusual type of bearings, where the knife-edges project from opposite sides of the lever and are supported by spaced bearings of the horseshoe t e. Oil the knife-edge pivot c rests 'a..sa lebloek e, over which pass the up er ends of links f, carrying a cross-piece and this cross-piece is received 1n recesses formed in ing from the platform-girders 0. By the employment of the rocker-block and cross iece the stress on the two links f is equalize and the saddle-block bearing e is allowed to freely swing into the same plane with the bearing e. All of the stands k k are pro;-

vided with openings 1 to permit inspection of the bearin whenneeessar' and to allow the removal 0 the saddle-bloc s, and so free the levers, which in turn can be taken out without driving out the 'vots.

Fi 7 to 12 i lustrate a modification of the app cation of the invention in which the in c a fvot at the butt of the lever en ed hearin sup orted upon a rigidstand instead of a s dlelock bearing hanging from links, and the equalizing rocking block is applied to the cross-piece of the inverted stand supported from the fulcrumpi'vot. a is the lever; c, the fulcrum-pivot en-.

gaging the bearing m, which, like a saddleloek, passes through the o ening of the lever, but is fixed upon t bolted to the side sill @which in turn is supported by the base-plate :0, set upon the masonr c is the platform-pivot carrying the sad ie-block bearing e, fromwhich hang the links f holding the rocking-block equalwhich supports the cross-piece i and ots and also the bearings whic 'rfi-om any grinding wear due to slid ng u n e rigi stand n, which is through the standards 7c k the platformgirder o and theload.

Figs. 13 and 14 illustrate still another modification affecting the fulcrum-bearing at the butt of the lever, which, as here shown, is

the overhanging lips w w, which serve to' keep the bearing-block place upon the cross-piece i,

Fi 15 shows the device which serves as an end stop, keeping the pivots in place upon their bearings. The hardened-steel j ieces t t, held'by screws u on the ends of t e bearings, meet the har ened points of thepivots with a minimum of friction.

Figs. 16 and 17 show how the advantages of the rocking block may be secured, replacing the horseshoe-shaped loop in connectionwith a lever having no o enings', but having the pivots set in the or inary way and standing out upon both sides, the standards, crosspiece, and rocking block being the same as already described. a is such a level with its platform pivot a set with its edge up and on its two ends carrying two link-bearings v v, thickened and steel-faced along the lines of contact, from which hangs the rocking block 79;, upon which the cross-piece i, the stand k the platform-girder 0, and the load are sup orted.

ig'. 18 illustrates the underframi'n'g, p beadapted to serve both as a bearing and rockv ICO i one main sill on which the stand n is b0 ted; r 1', cross-sills co ed to this side sill.

The lever shown in igs. 1 to 11 has the great advantage that its iron isdisposed well is to free the delicate l'mife-edgps of the pivthe engage each other. This is effected by su'spen the platform-sup rts upon the free-swing IIO .' above and below the neutral line of strains inglmks, which a low the motion of the platform due, for example, to movin a train upon it while the levers and bearings remain at rest. A suspended platform using a different device has been used in other types of scales, and I adapt it with my device to the" scale in which the main levers hang at right angles to the track upon the platform. The supportingstand, the cross-piece upon it, the two links swinging from that cross-piece, and the saddle-block bearing hanging by the links and engaging the fulcrum knife-edge pivot at the butt of the lever are substantially the same as the inverted stand, cross-piece, links, and saddle-block bearing engaging the platform-pivot.

The saddle-block bearing in the opening of the lever and engaging through its whole length the whole length of the knife-edge pivot has in this length of contact a great advantage over the horseshoe-shaped bearingloop engaging the two ends of a pivot standing out on the two sides of a lever without opening. Large horseshoe-shaped loops are I very clifiicult to make, and the length of l pivot edge in contact with them is almost necessarily limited. Then under heavy strains such loops must spring with a tendency to separate the outside ends of the two bearings from the pivot edge, and the spring oi the unsupported pivot increases that tendency to separate toward the ends, so that effcctive contact is limited to the parts close to the sides of the lever. The lever shown has the pivots supported by the casting through their whole length, and the saddle-blocks hanging from two links with bearing-surface both between and outside them have no tendency to spring, so that this device allows pivots and bearings in working contact through any desired length.

The horseshoe-shaped loop hung from a link in the middle serves toequalize the strain upon the two ends of a pivot, and so to allow the two hearings to adjust themselves in the same plane. The rocking block and links described and figured by me accomplish the same thing, taking the place of the large loop, and in many places it will work more satisfactorily. It may be applied with the crosspiece of the stand of either the fulcrum or the platform-pivot or upon a fixed bearing.

i Suspending the platform is so effective in guarding the working parts of the scaletrom all thrusts that in many cases it may not be necessary to suspend the bearing for the fulcrum-pivot, and the simpler arrangement shown in Figs. 7 to 12 maybe equally satisfactory. The bearing for that pivot in this case is 'lixed in the rigid stand, and the rocking-block evener is used with the inverted stand oi the platiornnbmning, and the buttpivot of the lever being stationary all the other swinging connections of the lever are expected to adjust themselves to this coudi tion.

If more convenient, the rocking block 1 cvener may be used without links, as shown in Fig. 14. The rocking-hlock evener is likely to prove ol" advantage also in certain kinds of scales in connec 1 with link-loop l bearings, engaging the two ends of a pivot i standing out from the sides of a lever, as shown in Figs. 16 and 17.

Any bearing engaging a pivot through its whole length should be titted with end stops of hard steel, as shown in Fig. 1.5.

It is believed that the system of underframing shown has advantages both in solidity of construction and reduced depth of pit.

It will be understood that it is not confined to the details as shown. For example, in-

, stead of the opening in the lever for the sad dle-block the lever might be cut away around where one or the other opening is shown, as indicated at r in Fig. 19, but with the pivot in place supported by the casting to engage the rocking-block bearing e, or, again, the scale may be placed high up and the platform beneath it suspended by rods av from bearings on the platform-pivots, as shown in Figs. 19 and 20.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A lever formed with its material dis- )osed near its upper and lower edges, and having an o )ening through its neutral line of strains, the load-receiver pivot carried by the lever, with its knife-edge in the opening, a saddle-block bearing upon this pivot, and two swinging links hanging from the saddle block and by which the tree swinging support of the load-receiver is carried.

2. A lever or scale beam having an opening and provided with projections in alinement with one wall thereof, and a knife-edge pivot extending through said 0 ening and reinforced by the metal of the ever, and projections.

3. In a weighing-scale, a lever having an opening, a knife edge pivot extending through and beyond the sides of the lever and supported by the lever, a saddle-blockbearing also extending through the opening and engaging the pivot for its entire length, and suspension-links encircling said saddle-block.

4. In a weighing-scale, a lever having a transverse opening, a knite-edge pivot ex tending therethrough and having abearing edge of greater length than the thickness of the lever, said pivot being reinforced throughout its entire ength, the opening being disposed to include the knite-edge of the pivot, and a bearing member coextensive in length with the pivot and engaging the same throughout its entire length.

5. The combination with a lever having a fulcrum knife-edge pivot with its edge down, and a platform-pivot with its edge up, of hearings for these pivots, a platform-support, a rocking block beneath the platform-support, and suspension members connecting said block with the plattorm-bearing.

(i. The combination with a lever having a fulcrum-pivot with its edge down, and a platform-pivot with its edge up, of hearings for IIO the pivots, a rocking block, and a pair of suspension members connecting the opposite end ill portions of oneof the bearings to saidblock.

7. A lever having the bearing en aging the fulcrum knife-edge pivot sup orte on a rigid stand, and the bearim of t e loadreceiver pivot arranged parallel with said pivot and carrying two swinging links by which the free-swinging support of the load-receiver an s.

8? A lever having knife-edge and fulcrum pivots, a stand, a bearing engaging the fulcrum knifeedge pivot and' supported onsaid stand, and the bearing of the platformpivot carrying swinging links encircling the pivot and bearing by which the free-swinging support of the platform hangs.

9. In a weighing-scale, a leverhaving a knife-edge pivot, a rocking block e,steel faced, to serve as a bearing for said knifeedge pivot, and the support '11 upon which it rocks, the block and pivot being coextensive in length, in combination with the other pivot of the lever, and its bearing, whereby the two bearings may swing into. the same plane.

10. The combination in a weighing-scale,

I of a lever having a knife-edge pivot, a bear- 12. The combination in a weighing-scale,-

of a lever havin a knife-edge pivot, a bearing therefor, both t e pivot and bearing extending throu han opening in the lever, a rockerblock, and a support having interfitting por- 14' In combination with a knife-edge pivot, of a lever, of aweighing-scale, a saddlelock bearing engaging the pivot, links encircling this bearin and a supporting-stand connected by the ink to thebearing, said stand having an opening in alinement with the bearing to permit removal of the latter.

15. In combination with the two main knife-ed e ivots, of a lever and their bearings, a b 00 a projection on which it isfree to rock, by which block one of these bear' s is carried, whereby that bearing is allowe to swing into the same plane with the other and to equalize the stress at the two ends of each pivot.

1 6. The und erframin shown, consisting of longitudinal sills p at t e sides of the scalepit, the cross-sills r, r, in pairs, coped upon the side sills in lace to carry the extension-lever stands ,at t e middle of the scale, and the base-plates x upon the masonry, upon which plates all the si ls have their support, in combination with the fulcrum-stands n bolted to the top of the side sills, and with levers carried above the level of the top of thesills.

17. In combination, the lever having laterally-projecting knife-edge pivots, the stand, a rocklng block, and connecting means, including a pair of link-loops, between the ivots and the opposite ends of said rocking b ockj.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, HENRY FAIRBANKS. Witnesses:

PERLEY F. HAGEN, HAROLD O. FRENCH. 

